THE PERSON: I love music (anything but country). I love movies (2009: The Hurt Locker). I love traveling (next stop: Burma). I love photography (weapon of choice: Canon 40D). And most importantly, I love food.

If I could scuba dive every day, I would. I did a 3-day live aboard in the Similan Islands in Thailand. In one dive, I saw a whale shark and seven manta rays. It will probably be the best dive of my life.

I start law school (again) in August 2010. That will be a whole new challenge.

 

THE WEIGHT LOSER: Up until middle school, I was always the chubby kid. I was never picked last for sports teams, but I was never asked to dances either. High school was when my weight started becoming uncontrollable. My rebellious sweet sixteen led to me eating out on a daily basis while my relationship with my mother deteriorated. She was concerned about my health, I just didn’t want to listen.

Did I try to diet? You bet I did. Diet pills. Those shakes that counted as meal replacements. South Beach. Atkins. You name it. I even had a gym membership. But I don’t think I wanted to lose weight badly enough. It was a negative cycle. I would get depressed about my inability to control my weight which would lead me to binge eating. Depressed. Binge. Repeat. I graduated high school at 245 pounds.

2006. My first year at UCLA, I gained 18 pounds to a whopping 263 pounds (119.3 kg). At 5’6 (168 cm), that is just plain ridiculous. My knees couldn’t handle it. My lungs couldn’t handle it. My liver couldn’t handle it – I was pre-diabetic. My mom took matters into her own hands and discovered a weight loss summer camp just for girls. She asked if I would go. I agreed.

Eight weeks later. I had lost 50 pounds. I returned back to school and lost another 40 in one semester. In 6 months, I had lost 90 pounds. I was feeling good, working out, and I had confidence. At my lightest, I was 173. But then, I gained another 40 pounds back.

2007. I became a camp counselor at the weight loss camp, both to help encourage overweight girls as well as force myself to lose the weight. Success! I was back down to the 170s. But real life started again, and I gained 30 pounds back.

2008. College graduation. Since I never got to walk at my high school graduation (which is a whole other story), I wanted to look good for my parents for my college graduation. I worked hard, and got back down to the low 180s. I decided to take a year off before law school and study abroad in Shanghai, China. One of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Surrounded by good people who also loved cheap, delicious food, I ballooned back to 210 pounds.

2009. I made the best decision of my life. I packed my backpack up and set out on a 7-month trip around Southeast Asia. I spent a month in Vietnam, a month in Cambodia, three months in Thailand, 35 days in Laos, and three weeks in Malaysia plus a few days in Singapore. All the walking (and yes, hitchhiking was involved as well as crazy motorbike excursions) led me to lose 35 pounds. I came back to America feeling great and ready to attend my cousin’s wedding. Then law school started. I briefly attended George Washington Law School – and will be starting Fall 2010 again – before I decided I wanted to defer. I was losing control of my weight. Again.

End 2009. Maybe I was depressed. Maybe I had no direction. Whatever it was, it led me to gain back the weight I had lost while traveling. In a brief 5 months, I was back to 213 (or so I thought until I bought a new scale). This time though, is the last time.

February 2010. I decided to regain control of my weight and my life. I started recording what I ate and I joined a gym (24 Hour Fitness). I started cooking again for myself and instead of eating the same five dishes, I began tweaking recipes to make them healthier. I wrote down my recipes and attempted food photography. I started a blog.

Why? Because this gaining and losing habit is not sustainable. In simple words: I’m sick of being fat. I want to be healthy, happy, and living my mid-20s the way I want to live it. I want to fit into that little black dress. And I want to attain my goal of 140.

And maybe, just maybe, I can influence and change somebody’s life along the way.